


You will never understand

by SanShine



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 22:06:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17292299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SanShine/pseuds/SanShine
Summary: Trapped in Nth metall for two days in a pocket dimension not unlike the Phantom Zone, Supergirl had almost accepted her gruesome fate of a lonesome death. But her situation may not be as hopeless and lonesome as she initially thought. Supergirl-Agent Liberty [Undecided if romance]





	You will never understand

 

**Chapter 1**

She was trapped. Trapped in Nth-metal. The strongest metal in the universe they said. And she wished she could prove them wrong right now. She couldn't.

The once liquid Nth-metal had within an instance enclosed her lower body up to her abdomen – Fortunately leaving one of her hands free to act. That didnt change the fact that she was immobilized for good. She had tried everything for the last two days. Smashing the metal with her remaing free arm. Superstrength. Redeyelasering. Freezebreathing. And flying. The Nth-metal and the whole structure it was connected to would not budge an inch. She wasnt actually sure how much time she had been in this hole. It was constantly dark so she could not orientate on any day-and-night cycle.

Actually she was trapped in two ways. Even if she had escaped the Nth-metal enclosement arround her leg and hips she wasnt sure if that would have helped in any way. She was in some kind of hole or cave. Her supersight didnt help much in making out the place. The walls consisted of some element that blocked her X-ray vision. Maybe Lead. Maybe some more exotic element or mineral she didnt know of. And many things were speaking for the second one. After all she was in a different dimension. That was what dimens-bombs did after all. Open a portal to another dimension and trap the poor target in it – forever. And this time the poor target was non other than Supergirl.

The great irony of it all was that an ally of her was actually responsible for this… gruesome situation she was in right now. Well, he was supposed to be an ally. Manchester Black was supposed to be her on her side. In some twisted way he probably thought he still was. Fionas death had twisted him and a new fear grew in Kara. _What if my death has the same effect on the people caring for me? What if they get twisted too? Filled with hatred and rage like Manchester._ Supergirl couldnt bear the thought.

Manchester had found out Agent Liberties true identity. Instead of calling the authorities or her, he went in himself. Dedicated to end a life for revenge and dragging innocents into his vengeance tour of madness. He shot that innocent woman in front of her and the womans husband – Ben Lockwood. Also known as Agent Liberty. Supergirl had tried to stop Manchester - even though she was trapped in Nth-metal he had poured on her earlier. Red lasers went for his hand holding the laser spear, but it was too late. Manchesters blue laser shot had already penetrated the womans heart. Supergirl was fast, but not lightspeed fast. Her eye laser scorched his hand, but the evil deed was already done. Supergirl would never forget the pained expression of Agent Liberty… Ben Lockwood… seeing his wife die in front of him.

The next and last thing she remembered was Manchester throwing a grenade in her direction. She would have never guessed it to be a dimens-bomb though. _And how did he got one of these dimens-bombs in the first place?_ Kara didnt know if Manchester had intentionally planned her to be trapped in this gruesome grave pocket dimension or had acted upon a reflex not thinking about the consequences. In the end it didnt really matter. Manchester was gone too far. He had already taken a life before and now right before her eyes an innocent one to boost. Also in her situations it didnt really matter. She was as good as dead. She would die a death she had feared the most. Alone and without meaning. She would die alone in this forsaken dimension trapped in the most heinous grave imaginable.

Tears fell and she sobbed herself into sleep.

* * *

A noise had woken her up a few hours later. She blinked still in delirium and it took her half a minute to catch up with everything that had happened and ultimately left her in this situation. Kara felt miserable, but yet she had to concentrate on her hearing. Indeed footsteps could be heard. Nearing on her. With her X-ray vision unable to penetrate the walls she was left to wonder who or what was nearing on her location. The sound was getting louder and more distinctive. The steps were careful and probing – that much she could tell. That left her with two conclusions. The person, if it was something that could be called that, was either new to this environment or it was something on a hunt taking extra care to not scare away any potential prey.

She faced herself for the second possibility. Readying her eyes to fire if necessary. Now she could make out a light cone coming from around the corner. The source was only a few seconds from reaching the corner. Anxiety was replaced by fear now. Kara gulped. Any moment now. Eyes focused and ready to act. Any moment now.

"Stop or I will kill you!", Supergirl shouted with as much confidence as she could. She realized there wasnt much left. Her first spoken words after two days were hoarse and weak.

"Huh...", could be heard as the person in front of her stumbled a step back in surprise.

"Who is this?", Kara asked unable to read the reaction in a frightful voice. The light cone was shining right at her, so she was unable to identify the silhouette.

"It´s me...", the person had said in a slow-paced voice and lowered the flash light so Kara could finally see the face.

"Agent Liberty...", she released the words slowly. Strangely she felt something akin to relief. She shouldnt feel relief right now. Her very arch-nemesis was standing in front of her. She should be fearful and to some extent she still was, but not as much as she felt seconds earlier.

"What´s left of him...", resignated the unmasked man in question made a few step to Supergirl unsure what to do or say.

As Supergirl didnt complain he closed the distance with slow steps. Kara could see that he was limping on one leg. A bruised face and resignating face completed the picture of the failed anti-alien hero. Even if he wasnt a hero for her, she was sure he saw himself as one, as did many others. She bit her lip as she heard him edge closer until he was standing just a few feet in front of her. She welcomed the light from the flash light, but not so much the man standing in front of her.

He was worse than the last time she had seen him; his eyes seemed to reflect pain and now also resignation, and Kara realized her own must reveal the undoubted fear she felt from him. He stood, simply staring at her for what must have felt like an eternity, half of her body trapped in this metal, watching him, one remaining hand raised halfway in case she needed to defend herself, but then he stepped aside, gazing at her with apparent confusion.

„You are still trapped in this Nth-metal...", he stated as a matter of fact unsure how to begin.

„That must make you a happy man then. The alien Supergirl trapped in the same alien metal that you protested against. You must trully enjoy this irony.", she spoke hatefully, but not without an ounce of resignation and hurt.

"I dont enjoy the misery of others... I never did.", the anti-alien leader spoke silently. Without her superhearing she was unsure if she had heard otherwise.

His voice reached something deep within her, and her eyes narrowed as she scoffed. "Do it. This is your chance." She hissed at him close to tears.

Agent Liberty made a puzzled face unsure of what she was meaning. But only an instance later he realized what she was implying.

"I dont kill...", he knew how that must have sounded right now. He had killed Fiona after all. A defenceless girl in captivity and he had killed her. And now he had paid the ultimate price by losing his wife to the man who had loved the girl he had killed.

"I never wanted the girl to die...", he said with his face looking at the ground.

"At least say her name you coward! Say her name!", Supergirl shouted at him.

It hurt. It hurt to be reminded about the greatest mistake in his life. It had cost him so much. His wife. His innocence. _Fiona._ Undoubetly it would hurt him even more to say the name of the girl he had killed in cold blood.

"Fiona... Her name was Fiona. I killed her... I shouldnt have.", Ben Lockwood said weakly. His battered body relaxing in the knowledge that he had given words to the horrors he did.

Tears were falling from her eyes now. Ben Lockwood could hear sobbing coming from the girl in front of him. He raised his face to the girl´s. Her hurtful and pained expression made him realize it for the first time. Supergirl may have been a superalien, but at the same time there was a girl behind the cape. A girl that was not as strong as he made her up to be. Weak and pained. Just like a... human.

"I won´t forgive you. Ever.", she swore at him. Slowly sweeping away the tears on her face. Ben realized that this was for the better. She shouldnt forgive him.

"I dont expect you to. My actions hurt others, even if I did what I thought was right. I still do think my cause is a just one and that the things I did were necessary. I sacrificed a lot of things. Along the way I also casted away my innocence. And in the end it cost me everything."

This was the cue for Supergirl to remember what had happened seconds before she was trapped in this pocket dimension. She was too late to save his wife. He had lost his wife right before his eyes. She let her anger float away slowly.

"I´m sorry.", she said slowly. Ben looked at her taken by surprise.

"F-for what...?"

"That I couldnt save her in time."

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 2**

The nightmare jerked him back to consciousness. He was only greeted by darkness and confusion. He tried to control the desperate gasps that heaved from his lips, echoing in the still chamber.

"Liberty?", came the tentative voice of Supergirl. In panic he reached for the flash light and turned it on. In an instant it came to him. The painful conclusion settled in: It was not a nightmare, but a memory. His wife was dead and he was trapped in this... whatever it was.

He looked at the person sharing his fate. Her eyes were wide, her face pale. Even with the edges of his vision fuzzing, he could tell by the confusion on her face that she was debating whether she should talk or stay silent. She chose the former.

„A nightmare?", she probed carefully.

„No… A recollection.", her pained face made him realize that she understood what memory he was referring to.

"Don´t...", he stopped Supergirls next words as she undoubtedly tried to comfort him. He did not need pity right now. After all it was all well deserved.

Ben Lockwood lay against the ground, his vision swimming in front of him as he tried to catch up to his racing breaths. Sadness had engulfed his normally calm demeanor, and his eyes focused on the alien again. He gave him a few seconds to collect himself. Calmness settled in.

„How long was I out?"

„Just an hour or so. You had just suddenly collapsed, when I was trying to apologize for...", yes he remembered their last discussion. He must have collapsed from fatigue. He hadn't slept for over 2 days straight and the injuries he had been dealt with didn't help either. The carbon fiber protection over his left arm was shredded and mangled, and the cuts on his forearm still ached, even though they weren't deep. The worst thing was his leg. He didn't think that it was broken, but it was worse enough to hinder him. His fingertips ran down to his face as if he expected his golden mask. Instead he only touched his cut lips and bruised eye.

„It must have been fatigue.", he explained to her.

„I see...", Supergirl stated.

„Do you know where we ended up?, he said, his voice deep and calm now. „It doesn't really look like we are on Earth anymore."

„We are in a different dimension. I assume we ended up in something like the Phantom Zone."

„Phantom Zone?", he asked puzzingly.

„Oh right, you wouldn't now. It´s a pocket dimension that was used by my people as a prison for the most vile criminals.", she explained to him. He kept his gaze even.

„I guess in some way you got what you wanted… me being here, in this prison, I mean.", Supergirl had made an expression that he could only read as hurt.

„I don't wish anyone to end up in the Phantom Zone or whatever this is. Not even you. It´s a death sentence.", she corrected his assumption with strong emotions.

His only reply was an unreadable expression.

„Can you free yourself?", he asked her as he made a few steps towards her to inspect the aliens encasement.

„No. I tried everything. I hit it. I lasered it. I froze it. It wont do any good.", she said with a hint of resignation. He crouched and touched the metal. As he looked up he could see her face up close for the first time since being here. Her eyes were red. He wasn't sure if it was still from the moon dust grenade Manchester had used on her or from crying. He guessed a mixture of both. Her lips were dry and torn and shivered.

Then he heard her stomach growl. They both looked at her stomach. She embarrassed. He puzzled.

"Surprised that even the great Supergirl gets hungry, Agent Liberty?", she spoke aggressively. More so than she had intended to. He ignored her outcry and instead went for his pocket.

"I found something like a crab when I was roaming these tunnels. Give me a moment. I still have some left.", he grabbed a piece of aluminum foil from one of his pockets and opened it. It wasn't much.

"Here eat.", she reached out carefully first but then almost snapped the white meat piece and shoved it down her throat.

"How long haven´t you eaten?", he asked almost with a hint of worry.

"Three days.", Ben wasnt sure how much food Kryptonians needed, but he was sure she must have been starving all this time.

"D-do you have something to drink…?", she asked pleadingly now. Food was fine, but what really plagued her was the thirst.

"No. I´m sorry.", he said knowing how thirsty she must feel right now. Supergirl made an expression as if she wanted to reply something, but had decided against it. He looked at her puzzingly pushing her wordlessly to continue.

"I am not sure… It could be my imagination...", after a longer pause she continued "but I think I can hear water not too far away. But as I said I am not really certain. I have never been so thirsty and hungry in my life before. I could very well be imagining it."

"Where?", he asked inquiringly.

„I think it´s coming from directly behind me, so I wasn't really able to use my vision to check it out as I cant really turn around with the Nth-metal all around my waist. It should be about 20 meters, 30 max.", she stated. Her mouth watering just at the prospect of water. Dehydration was something no one, no _thing_ in the world could deal with for very long. And Supergirl was no exception.

„I will look.", the anti-alien leader assured her and went for the alleged source of water. He could only hope she was right. Death by dehydration was a gruesome end, a fate he would share soon after her, too.

"Can you see something?", Supergirl hopefully said as loud as she could ensuring the man could hear her even if she was facing the other way.

"A moment." This part of the cave room wasn't very different from the part he had entered this chamber through. The walls consisted of darkish rock. In some places they were smooth at others they were rougher. At the end of the chamber he saw another corridor just like the other one he had entered hours before. He wondered if Supergirl was even aware of that.

Then he saw something reflecting in the light cone of his flash light. He stepped further and crouched down to the source of the reflection. This little part of the rock was wet. He touched the wet rock and guide his finger back to his lips. There was no distinctive taste. It WAS water then, but that wouldn't help much…

"Agent Liberty?", he heard from behind almost pleadingly. He closed his eyes and made his way back to Supergirl.

"The stone is wet, and its certainly is water", a hopeful guttural sound escaped Supergirl, but he continued with the bad news, "but there isn't really a fountain, so there really isn't any running water I can collect." Her expression darkened. Dread was settling in. Tears would have undoubtedly fallen, hadn't she been in this dehydrated state. A dark realization settled in. _I will die one of the worst deaths imaginable._

"I´m sorry.", he said as he saw the change in her demeanor. Kara didn't notice his apology. She was in deep thought and panicked reflection. The dehydration was fogging her mind. So maybe she had overseen something. Maybe there was something she didn't think of in this delirium of hers. She had a lingering feeling there was something missing. Something she had overseen. It was like a word that was on the tip of your tongue. She WAS missing something. Then it came to her.

"I-i dont hear it right now. Maybe it´s just not flowing right now. Maybe later.", she said what Agent Liberty could only interpret as the grasping for straws out of desperation. Still he decided not to shatter this last hope of hers.

"Maybe you are right. Then it´s just a matter of time until it streams again.", he instead preserved this last hope of hers.

"Yes, only a matter of time.", she hopefully proclaimed. Ben Lockwood did not fail to recognize the dread and panic in her eyes. He wasn't sure if she knew that she was only grasping for straws or if she wholeheartedly believed it herself. _As long as it keeps her from breaking, I guess it will work for now._

Suddenly he flinched as Supergirls eyes opened and she frantically shouted: "I can hear it now again. Water. I can hear it flow. Fast. Please fast. Look at it again now. I can hear it."

Maybe it was already too late. Maybe she had went mad already. Her voice was harsh and rasping. His hesitation to act only made her keep shouting louder and more desperate.

"I CAN hear it! Please, hurry!", she shouted now even more frantically. He feared that the gruesome realization that there was still no water would break her. Still Lockwood decided to fulfill her wish as he fast paced to the place where he had found wet stone. He could hear Supergirl mumble behind him as he walked as fast as his wounded leg had allowed him. He wasn't sure it it was directed at him or if it was just the last stage of madness. The words of a mad man. _Woman_ , he corrected himself. _Alien woman_ , he corrected himself again.

He neared the place and surprisingly there really was water flowing out of the crack in the rock. It run down the blackish stone and seeped into the slack ground. She was right. There was water flowing. He pressed his palm to the wall and collected some water in his palm. He took a little sip to confirm it was water. It was.

"You were right. Water.", he shouted more relieved than he had intended. Just then he realized how thirsty he was himself. _No, her first. She needs it more urgently._

"Please, water.", he heard from behind.

Had he something to collect the water? A fast search on his body confirmed what he already knew. He hadn't. My palms must do.

He pressed palm to palm and then pressed his hand to the stream on the wall. He collected a handful and rushed to Supergirl. Careful not to spill too much on his way he made it to Supergirl. As Supergirl saw the water in his palm she frantically bend forward.

"Trink slowly. Dont choke.", he warned her moving his hands towards her lips. A small nod was the only answer he got. As he had pressed his left palm to her lips he carefully tilted the palm so she could access the water in his palms more easily. She had supported his palms with her one free remaining hand. With gulping sounds and fast breathing she emptied his palms of water.

It wasn't much, he realized. He must have spilled almost half of it on his way. As he saw her pleading expression he rushed back to the water crack. As he reached it he was relieved to see it still giving water. He took another palm of water and rushed back. She drank more carefully now.

He had completed his sixth round as the water had stopped flowing. Finding only wet stone at the seventh turn. He went back to find the longing super-alien. With a shrug of his shoulder he signaled her that the water was gone again. He realized he forgot to drink some water himself. But he has feeling that it would flow again some time.

And Supergirl. She couldn't quench her thirst fully, she looked more lively and less panicked now. At least she wouldn't die of dehydration… soon.

"Thanks...", she said truly thankfully.

"And sorry about my earlier behaviour. I was panicking, I guess.", she added after a pause, embarrassed of her earlier behaviour.

"Think no longer about it, Supergirl."

"Kara.", He looked puzzled at her.

"Please call me, Kara. I don't feel so Super right now.", she offered him.

"You are that SJW girl from CatCo I debated on TV instead of Olsen.", he stated in realization.

"SJW?", she asked inquiring.

"It´s just a… Doesn't matter.", A pause had settled in. _Oh right._

"Ben Lockwood. But you already know that, I guess. Call me Ben or Lockwood, whatever you prefer.", he offered her in return. He continued.

"To be honest I would have never guessed you being Supergirl. Or Supergirl being that small fish MSM journalist. Whatever way you prefer. But in hindsight, it´s pretty obvious, isn't it. After all isn't the power of the pen just as powerful as any weapon."

"It´s even stronger.", Kara corrected him. She was answered by a doubting expression.

"If you say so, _Super_ girl.", he emphasized the super in her name. Narrowing eyes were her only answer.

"Let´s concentrate on more pressing matters. Like getting you out of this Nth-metal.", he offered her something like a truce. She accepted it with a nod.

"Impossible. I tried everything. Nth-metal is unbreakable.", she reminded him of her situation.

"We will see... Kara."

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 3**

„I told you this is hopeless...", Kara gloomily explained to him again. There was no way out of this encasement of Nth-metal.

The girl shifted slightly, it was little good trying to get comfortable. Nothing about her situation was comfortable. Trapped in this metal within another dimension. And an alien hating nemesis being her only companion. Comfort wouldn't settle in soon.

But yet, he had proved to be anything but helpful. In the contrary. Agent Liberty… or Ben Lockwood, wasn't acting like she had expected from an arch-nemesis. He was acting rather kind and patient. His fixation on freeing her from the Nth metal was prove of that. Not that it would matter.

„And even if you get me out. It may already be too late.", she added. Ben raised a questioning look at Supergirl as he was interrupted from searching the cave for anything that may help him free her. He could see tears falling down her face again.

„What do you mean?"

Kara hesitated for a moment. She wished away the tears with her free remaining hand.

„I cant feel my legs anymore...". Silence settled in until Lockwood probed further with an unreadable expression.

„Since when?"

„An hour or so."

More silence.

It was Ben who broke the silence again.

„Then it may not be too late. It just means that we have to hurry getting you out.", he proclaimed assertively. Her narrowing eyes told him how futile she thought his attempt at encouraging her was.

"Before you ask. Yes, I have a plan that may just work."

Silence.

"Wait, really?", she said with hope she thought she would never muster again.

"Nth-metal is unbreakable. In that regard you are right. But as every metal even Nth-metal has a weakness."

A nod of hers signaled him to continue.

„Any sulfuric based acid will negate the property of his unbreakabality by disarranging the atomic structure. Although after an acid bath it will still be harder than steel and will rearrange its atomic arrangement within an hour or so, it will give you a time window in which it can be broken and bend. This is how Nth-metal accessories are crafted."

Supergirls eyes lit up.

"Can I assume that you wouldn't tell me this if you not already knew a way to make some of this acid.", she asked him with newly won hope. He nodded.

"These walls aren't made of such an exotic material as you might think. I assume it´s a sulfide mineral called Galena. It is the most important ore of lead and that's the reason you cant use your X-ray vision on it as it consists almost purely of lead. Almost, because the rest is sulfur. That's what we will need.", he explained to her in lay terms.

"How do you know of all this.", Kara asked in a positively surprised tone.

"My father was a metallurgist." _Oh right I forgot_ was the expression Kara made as she realized she actually knew that.

"How do we do that? Roasting or what you called it.", after she realized her cheerfully tone she caught herself acting too jauntily. He was her enemy. She was still trapped. There is no _we,_ she reminded herself. If Ben Lockwood realized the shift in her demeanor he didn't show it as he continued unfazed.

"We only need to recreate the process of roasting to extract the sulfur component. Heating it up with your laser beams at an exact point of temperature will do the thing. But it must be within a margin of 3 Grad Celsius. Too little heat and the sulfur wont remove from the Galena. Too much and it will just evaporate into thin air."

"How will I find the right temperature?", she asked.

"Trial and Error." She nodded.

To start their first trial he put a handsized piece of Galena aside of her covering a piece of Nth-metal. Signaling to make herself ready he made a step back.

"We will need about 1000 degree Celsius to remove the sulfur acid from the lead in the Galena. Start low with about 800 degree and go up slowly until I say stop.", he told her.

Kara was anxious. This may be her one and last chance to get out of this encasement. Closing her eyes she prayed to whoever would listen that it would work. With a deep sigh she opened her eyes and focused the glare on the rock laying on the Nth-metal. Red beaming lasers shot out of her eyes. She started low.

"Steady.", she heard him telling her to keep a constant temperature.

"Good. Go up now. About 100 degree.", Lockwood told her. He was crouching a few feet away from the heating up lore. Far enough to not inhale the poisonous evaporation, close enough to make out the right temperature. Even from here he could feel the immense heat Supergirls laser beam was emitting. A sweat drop ran down his temple.

"Good. Now slowly go up. Until I say stop."

By the change of colour of the beam he could see she was slowly rising the output temperature of the laser.

"More slowly now. Any moment."

"That´s it. I can see the sulfur reacting with the Nth metal. Keep it a few more seconds.", with a hand over his face he could make out the reaction on the Nth-metal. And then it was gone. The sulfur in the Galena was spent.

"You can stop now.", a breath Supergirl didnt know she was holding was exhaled. Catching her breath she looked at the lore and then back to Ben.

"D-did it work?"

"Let´s see.", he said as he used his flash light to put away the still hot leftover lead. He could clearly see it had worked. He could see small veins of cracks starting from the point where the sulfur acid had touched with the Nth-metal. They were spreading as he watched. This little Galena had contaminated a circle of about 15cm.

"It actually worked.", he proclaimed with a shrug of his shoulder.

"You sound surprised.", Supergirl raised an eyebrow.

"There still was a good chance that I was wrong. I am not a metallurgist after all, only the son of one.", he said accompanied with a melancholic smile. Surprisingly she returned it with a small one herself.

"And now?", with a small voice Supergirl asked.

"And now we put more Galena on this Nth-metal, Roast it. And wait for the Sulfur to contaminate the whole Nth-metal block. And then break it."

There was that _we_ again. It sounded surreal. Working together with Agent Liberty. The alien hating leader of an alien hating movement. A man that wanted her dead not long ago. And now they suddenly were a _we_. Kara was unsure what to think or feel right now. Was this really the same man she herself wanted privily dead only a few days ago? Then she remembered what she had said just hours ago to him

 _"I will never forgive you."_ She wanted these words to be true. She never wanted to forgive him. Never.

_Still..._

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 4**

After the successful experiment on the small pebble of Galena ore, Ben Lockwood had decided to work on freeing the encased arm first. After collecting enough Galena and putting it on the respective places he let Supergirl do the work. In the process they didn't speak a word. There was no need for words. Both knew what had to be done.

After giving her a silent nod she had started to heat up the ore placed on the Nth metal on her encased arm. He had put it as high as possible so the sulfur would just drip down and weaken the Nth metal around her arm. The disarranged atomic structure should allow her to break the Nth metal.

After just 2 minutes her work was done. He used his hidden dagger to scratch away the remaining lead. He could see that the sulfur had spread nicely and was already doing its work.

"Give it a minute to spread.", he told her flatly.

She nodded gulping down.

After a minute had passed he told her to try breaking free.

She was trying to muster her full strength. At first she didn't feel any change, but just as she wanted to pause she could feel the metal bend slightly.

"I-i think it´s working.", she exhaled in a short pause.

"Good. Keep going. There is a small time window until the atomic order rearranges itself.", he warned her not to pause too long.

Wordlessly she tried again. This time is was not only bending, but actually cracking on some spots.

"A last push.", he encouraged her.

She pushed with every ounce of power she had left and truly the Nth-metal around her arm shattered.

A big triumphant cry had escaped her as she stretched both hands into the air. A good portion of Nth-metal had shattered, freeing her arm and half her hip. Her legs and part of her left hip were still trapped, but she was able to move her upper body freely now. As she settled down from this first achievement she realized how much this endeavor had actually exhausted her.

"Let´s take a pause.", he offered her. Kara could see that she wasn't the only one being exhausted. Ben had brought stones and rocks continuously to her Nth metal encasement. With his wounded leg it must have been a rather straining activity. So she nodded. He sat down slowly, not to strain his wounded leg further. He had collected the still hot lead beside him, so it could warm him. It was getting colder. He concluded this was due to some night-day cycle.

So 5 minutes had passed – in silence.

Another 5 min.

Another 5 min.

After 15 minutes of silence she had to break the silence. The silence was eating at her. She had spent 2 full days without anyone to speak to. Now that she wasn't alone anymore she still wasn't speaking a lot. She desperately needed a conversation to not fall into madness. _Now how to start one?_

She cocked her head at him. "I didn't expect you to be so quiet. You can't seem to shut up when you have an audience." Lockwood narrowed his eyes slightly at her.

He stared evenly at her.

 _Rao,_ w _hy was she agonizing him_ , Kara was scolding herself. He had actually done everything to help her. This in itself was unsettling. Wasn't it a good thing he was mostly silent most of the time? And what would there be to talk about? The lines were drawn clearly.

With a sigh, she shook her head and turned back to her silent solitude.

„I have nothing else at my disposal." She was surprised she got an answer, even if it was a delayed one.

„I don't have superpowers, I don't even know how to fight beside some martial arts lessons I took. Words are the only thing that make me do an impact.", he continued.

They had successfully broken through another portion of the Nth metal encasement around Supergirl. It was enough to free her full hip and part of her left knee. She began to feel one of her legs again, too. They had decided to take a longer pause now. Supergirls power were depleted for now. The missing yellow sun did not help much either. So it would take another two hours until she could use her eyes beams again.

With the warmth spending lead cooling down in the span of an hour, the cavern grew chilly again. Just five feet from her, Agent Liberty was shivering in his sleep. The most logical move would be to heat up some of the ore for warmth, but the prospect of helping him still nauseated her. How many times had he wanted to end her? Let him suffer, just as his victims had. Huddling into her cloak, she curled onto her own. Trying not to care too much about her legs still being trapped and the shivering man beside her.

Supergirls whisper jolted him from sleep. Ben Lockwood tensed, listening. She whispered something again, and he heard the rustle of clothes as she signaled something to him. He silently crawled near to her. There must be a reason why she is keeping silent.

"Lockwood. There is something behind me.", she whispered to him as silent as possible. He nodded signaling her he understood as he extended the hidden knife from his suit.  
Supergirl could only tell that there was something creeping up behind her. As she was still unable to turn around she could not use her super vision. She estimated that it must be around 30 meter away now. Right at the entrance to their chamber.

Ben slowly took up the flash light that was still turned off. Kara could still see his anxious expression in the dark. _He was not a fighter_ , she remembered. That was the reason it surprised her that he slowly made his way to the intruder.

"Wait. Where are you going?", she whispered. He ignored her as he turned on the flash light.

"What is it?", she tried to bend her body side-wards, but the encasement around her lower body would not allow her enough space. A small grasp from Lockwood made her fear go up.

"A lizard man or something. He doesn't look happy. Wait...", Ben was interrupted as he was thrown backwards by the intruder that had leaped the 30m within seconds.

"BEN!", he heard Supergirl crying out for his name as he heard ar ringing like you would expect from a grenade exploding near you.

Supergirl could only watch as Ben was thrown two meter through the air. A quick X-ray vision confirmed that he hadnt broken anything. Now she had tend to the more urgent matter. The attacker.

The said attacker was now circling her. She could make out something one could only call a lizard man. A skin that was full of shed. A long tail. Reptile eyes and sharp teeth. The three of them were in a triangle constellation now. Front left of her was Lockwood. Front right was the lizard.

Ben Lockwood was already standing again. Locking his eyes with the lizard man. He was breathing heavily and fast. His expression was tense and fearful at the same time. Considering the display of power just seconds ago, she was sure Ben Lockwood would stand no chance against this thing. She turned to the lizard man.

"We come in peace. We don't want to hurt you.", she tried to convince it of their peaceful intentions. The lizard didn't react. His look was still locked on Ben. He surely considered him the easier prey right now. And that's when she concluded that they were just that to it. Prey.

"Ben! Get behind me!", she told him determined. He broke his eyes with the lizard and looked incredulous at her. Her stern expression reinforced her order wordlessly. He nodded.

Ben slowly walked up to Supergirls side, so she would stand between him and the creature. And that was the exact moment the lizard man chose to attack. With Ben out of the picture he had found his new target in Supergirl. Little did he know that she was more powerful than one could expect from a trapped girl. Before it could claw into her flesh she had grasped both its hands. What she did not think of was the sharp teeth of the thing she had no defense for right now.

The lizard went for the shoulder and bit into it, actually drawing blood. A short yell escaped Supergirl as she tried to get the thing off her, but he had bitten into her and would not let go. Kara remembered those documentaries about crocodiles not letting go off their prey until they were sure it was dead. And it hurt.

The next moment she could hear flesh being penetrated.

"Suffer not the Xeno to live.", she could hear from behind the lizard. Agent Liberty had pushed his dagger into the neck of the lizard. Supergirls eyes widened. The next moment she could feel the lizard teeth letting go of her. The lizard body lifelessly slided to the ground. The reptile eyes still visible. And something in them Kara could only read as fear.

"You killed it.", she stated solemnly.

"I did.", he stated non-chalantly.

"Thanks.", now that surprised him. He had fully expected to be scolded by the hero. Now that was something new. He cold only nod in response.

"But ´Suffer not the Xeno to live´?", she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh that… it´s just a table top game thing. You wouldn't understand.", he was embarrassed that he was actually embarrassed.

A big grin was plastered on her face.

"Don t be so sure about this, Mon´keigh."

 

* * *

 

**Chapter 5**

„I'm not sure about the Emperors motives, but I think they were just too extreme. Sure aliens aren't really friendly in the 40th millennia, but still… trying to exterminate them all? Doesn't sound like a good idea at all. On the contrary it was so short-sighted.", Kara argued with Ben Lockwood about the inner logic and lore of a science-fiction fantasy dice game. An exchange that already lasted 10 minutes.

„Sounds like what an Eldar would say. Us humans being short-sighted and stuff. Can I assume you played an Eldar army?", Ben asked visibly interested in their exchange.

„Actually I never played it, to be honest. I was more like a lore fan. Reading the rule books, lore and collecting some figures I thought looked nice and had an interesting background story. But yes, they were mostly Eldar.", admitted Kara to Ben.

„Still, who would have thought? The great Supergirl interested in one of Earths most nerdy tabletop games.", he kept chatting as he was putting the Galena ore on the remaining Nth metal. One last roasting session and Supergirl would be free. He had no plan for the time after, but right now he felt that freeing her would do him no harm right now. And if she was right, they were stuck here anyway. Permanently. It wouldn't harm him if Supergirl… Kara could spend her last days in freedom. Well, in the freedom to walk, that is.

"My best friend in high school was a big nerd and he loved it. Had an army and everything. He was a Chaos fanboy by the way. I would accompany him to the monthly matches and tournaments and gradually I got into the lore and couldn't stop indulging in it.", Kara explained in a rather melancholic tone. Ben missed that as he was concentrating on the right amount of Galena.

"You still in touch?", Ben asked absently to keep up the conversation as he layed out the ore on the Nth metal.

Silence settled in. He looked up worryingly as he realized she had remained silent. He saw her shedding a tear in silent contemplation. Before he could say anything she forestalled.

"He is dead.", she silently stated.

"I'm sorry.", he said apologetically.

"It´s okay. It´s long in the past. And not your fault."

A silent moment between them settled in. Each aware of the others loss. Wordlessly they sympathized with the other.

"By the way, I am finished. Do you want to take a pause before you start?", he cut off the serene moment between them.

"No it´s alright. I just want to get out of this.", Supergirl urged him to proceed taking a safe distance.

As Ben Lockwood stepped back 5 steps, she started her work of heating up the Galena ore with her eyes. She couldn't believe that in a few minutes she would be free of this Nth metal encasement. She wasn't oblivious to the silent elephant in the room. The big question of what would happen after her being free off this shackles. _Stay together? Part ways?_ Both possibilities made her shiver in their very own ways.

Well at least they wouldn't have to worry about starving, for the time being. The lizard crocodile meat wasn't really tasty, but it would nourish them for a week or more.

Water was still a little bit of a problem. The spring had only given water once since the last time. And every time she could only drink about half a liter, because Ben Lockwoods leg was not getting better and her being trapped made her rely on him bringing the water in his palm through a distance of 20 meters.

"I think that´s it.", she was interrupted by Ben. He made a step towards the Nth metal and scrapped away the leftover lead. Kara could clearly see the sulfur acid doing its work. The veins, signaling the disarrangement of the atomic order within the Nth metal, spread evenly across the surface.

After inspecting the sulfur acid and its impact he looked at her and nodded. With the silent signal given, Kara struggled against the Nth metal around her legs and knee. As it would not bulge, she hammered it with her hands. Cracks formed on surface. She hammered harder and more ferociously. One last hit was enough to shatter the Nth metal and set her free completely. A cry of triumph and relief accompanied the feat.

The next moment she fell over. She had not yet regained the control of her legs. She was gruelly reminded that both of her legs were still numb as she fell over. Just as she expected to hit the ground head first, a helping shoulder caught her in time. Stretching an arm over her shoulder and using his own to slowly lay her down, Ben could only scold himself for his action.

It´s not as if Supergirl would have hurt herself or anything. He talked his own action off as a reflex as he finished laying her down.

"That was not necessary. Let go now!", Supergirl aggressively stated as she looked up at her nemesis with repulsion. Ben narrowed his eyes.

"Purely a reflex. It wont happen again, alien.", his tone was likewise defiant and full of regained hatred. _An alien is still an alien._ Gone was the good mood.

It seemed as both had reminded themselves that they were still enemies. And that their shared fate wont change anything about it. Just as the realization settled in both felt something. She regret. He disappointment.

Supergirl did not want the situation to worsen by aggravating Ben Lockwood. But it was done. She had just reacted out of instinct. Her enemy holding her in his arms. At first she may have felt disgust at being hold by him. Then she remembered he was only trying to help, but by then it was already too late and she had said what she had felt at first. Disgust. Hatred.

A new fear grew in her. What if that conversation would mean that they would part now. Nothing was holding them together now. She stated clearly that she did not enjoy or need his company or help. Wasn't the logical conclusion to part? _Rao, what had she done?_ A good thing destroyed by a single sentence.

 _A good thing?_ Did she really think that? She urged herself to be honest with herself for once. _Of course it was a good thing._ Without him she would have starved or died of thirst by now. She would not be free from the Nth metal and die a gruesome death. But before that she would have turned mad by the solitude in the darkness. He had prevented all these things. A shudder went through her body as she thought of what may have been. What may have been if he hadn't shown up. _Rao._

While Supergirl was filled with regret, Ben Lockwood was disappointed. He did not know what he had expected would happen after freeing Supergirl. _Working together? Fight? Part ways?_ He was a little bit disappointed that it would be the later. Dying alone in this hell was not a happy prospect. However, Kara had made it clear that he was no longer needed. No longer welcomed in her presence.

Did she lull him in to free her. _Was the conversation and apparent good will between them just a ploy to keep him trying to free her? What would happen if she regained control of her feet? Would she attack him?_ She doesn't kill, he reminded himself. But he knew that there weren't exactly many witnesses here. Before he wouldn't have thought it possible she would kill anyone, but after the look she had given him as he tried to help her, full of disgust and hatred, he wasn't so sure anymore.

His conclusion was to get away from her. However, he had to be careful. A laser beam from her eyes could still kill him. The alien couldn't move right now. So that was an advantage. She was facing the entrance he had arrived earlier. So that was out of question. He need a quick idea.

The next moment he flinched as Supergirl looked up at him. One laser beam and he would be dead before he knew it. _Will she do it now, or wait until she gets control of her legs again?_ He realized that this depended on the question if she still needed him. Her legs were numb. He wasn't sure if she was able to fly with her legs in this situation. He will just assume that she cant fly right now. That meant she still needed him. _The water._ Sure she could crawl there to drink, but he hoped she would just not consider that. He will have to try.

Just as she finally averted her look, he offered to look for the water fountain.

"I will look for the water.", he tried to say it in a neutral tone.

_Please, don't point out that you cant hear it flow._

_Please don't point out that you can crawl there by yourself._

Please, don't point out that I could drag you with me.  
  
As she gave a slight nod. He made his way to the fountain to the other side of the chamber. The fountain was at the opposite side of the entrance he had entered the cave. Just three meters next to the fountain was an exit. The same corridor the lizard had made its entrance. He would go to the fountain first and then in an instant leap for the corridor and then run as fast as possible.

But first he need to pray that Supergirl wouldn't get the idea of him fleeing and in conclusion kill him before he reached the exit.

Meanwhile Supergirl´s feelings were in turmoil. She had finally gathered her will to apologize to Ben, but as she had locked his eyes with him he had just flinched. She could not tell if it was out of fear or anger. Before she could say anything, he told her that he would look for the water fountain. Not to antagonize him further she nodded slightly.

She will apologize when he comes back. He probably just needed a few minutes for himself. She sighed deeply. Everything would turn out fine she assured herself after she apologized.

Ben Lockwood had reached the water fountain by now. He glanced at the corridor just three meters away. He evaluated the possibilities. Either he would just leap for it, hoping that Supergirl wont be fast enough to react with her laser eyes. Or he would try to take it slowly. But as he remembered her super-hearing he concluded that the leap-fast approach was probably the better solution. He inhaled deeply. He went for it.

The quick move was not missed by Supergirl. She turned around and could only see a shadow turning around the corridor. It took her a minute to realize. _Ben was gone. NO!_

"Wait! Ben! Please stay. I didn't mean it. Please stay. Let me explain. Please don't leave me here. BEN!", was shouted in a loud a desperate voice. Heart-wrenching sobbing followed shortly after.

_

 

 


End file.
